Quality Education

Make Persons with Disabilities Integral Players in Fully Inclusive Societies

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) — Ten years ago, the Asia-Pacific region came together and designed the world’s first set of disability-specific development goals: the Incheon Strategy to “Make the Right Real” for Persons with Disabilities. This week, we meet again to assess how the governments have delivered on their commitments, to secure those gains and develop the innovative solutions needed to achieve fully inclusive societies.

: Asia Editor; OPINION; 15 October 2022

Image credit: International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination & Liberation (IPMSDL)

Indigenous Women Fighting Back for A Future Free of Violence

By Romeo Jara*

MANILA (IDN) — Fifteen years and almost nothing much has changed. This is the result of an Amnesty International (AI) report titled “The Never-Ending Maze” about sexual violence towards Indigenous women in the United States as shared by AI USA’s Tarah Demant.

On September 14, the International IPMSDL hosted the online discussion “In Search of a Safer Future” which highlighted government failures in keeping Indigenous women safe.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 01 October 2022

Act Now to Transform Education into 21st Century Learning

Viewpoint by Dr Randa Grob-Zakhary

The author is the Founder and CEO of Education.org

ZURICH (IDN) — At the recent Transforming Education Summit in New York, 130 countries pledged to reboot their education systems and accelerate action to tackle the global learning crisis. Fifty foundations pledged to support those ambitions.

As UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlined, COVID-19 has “dealt a hammer blow” to education systems worldwide. But this has come on top of a much longer term crisis. Too often, education systems “don’t make the grade,” the Secretary-General said, as they are “dependent upon outdated and narrow curricula, under-trained and underpaid teachers, and rote learning”.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 24 September 2022

Photo: Survivors of a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan attend class at a UNICEF-supported community-based education centre in Gayan District, Paktika Province. Credit: UNICEF | Mark Naftalin

UN Chief Considers Financing Education, Imperative for 'Peaceful, Prosperous, Stable Societies'

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) — Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, two-thirds of countries have cut their education budgets. “But education is the building block for peaceful, prosperous, stable societies,” says the UN Chief.

“Reducing investment virtually guarantees more serious crises further down the line”. Secretary-General António Guterres spelt out: “We need to get more, not less, money into education systems”.

: Radwan Jakeem; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 18 September 2022

The Culture of Peace Bolsters the Potential for Sustainable Peacebuilding

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is the Founder of the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), Permanent Representative of Bangladesh (1996-2001) and Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations (2002-2007).

NEW YORK (IDN) — 23 years ago today, on 13 September 1999, the United Nations adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, a monumental document that transcends boundaries, cultures, societies, and nations. It was an honor for me to Chair the nine-month long negotiations that led to the adoption of this historic norm-setting document by the United Nations General Assembly.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 13 September 2022

UN Can Model Innovative Ways to Engage Youth

Time for a National Forum or Assembly

By Simone Galimberti

The writer is the Co-Founder of ENGAGE, a not-for-profit NGO in Nepal. He writes on volunteerism, social inclusion, youth development and regional integration as an engine to improve people's lives.

KATHMANDU (IDN) — One of the pillars of Our Common Agenda, the UN Secretary-General's global blueprint on delivering a better future based on cooperation and multilateralism, is a strong focus on inclusion, protection and participation.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 28 August 2022

Image: Advocate of bitcoin proposes BTC as fix to US student loan crisis. Source: Coinscreed

We Can Do So Much More on Student Loan Forgiveness

Viewpoint by India Walton and Sam Rosenthal

SAN FRANCISCO, USA (IDN) — As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden was hardly bullish on student debt cancellation. He was cajoled by progressives and his presidential primary opponents into adopting a more forceful student debt cancellation stance, one which ultimately helped win him the support of young voters.

Now, after a series of tepid moves, President Biden’s grand statement in the student debt saga has arrived.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 August 2022

The World is in Deep Trouble—& the Sustainable Development Goals in Jeopardy

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — The warnings came from the highest echelons of the United Nations, from UN Secretary-General António Guterres and President of the 193-member General Assembly Abdulla Shahid.

The message was clear: the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) desperately need help for their very survival, eight years ahead of their 2030 deadline for full implementation.

: Thalif Deen; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 18 July 2022

Image: Moscow State Pedagogical University's three uniquely qualified and acclaimed educators have co-authored a unique publication “International Standards of Education: History lessons and modern times”. Source: WIKIDATA

A Unique Book on International Education and Origins of the UN and UNESCO

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) — The famous Russian publishing house “Etnosfera" has published an unparalleled publication,“ International Standards of Education: History lessons and modern times”.

The 200-page publication that has generated glowing reviews in diverse news media is co-authored by three uniquely qualified and acclaimed Moscow State Pedagogical University educators.

: Somar Wijayadasa; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 13 July 2022

UN Actions Against Hate Speech

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) — “Fighting hate, discrimination, racism and inequality is at the core of United Nations principles and the Organization’s work. It is enshrined in our founding Charter, in the international human rights framework and in our collective efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” says United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.